The Torah of Rochelle Zell
On Spirituality
Talia Schoenberg, RZJHS 2020 I want to tell you two short stories this morning.
Story #1: My first two years of high school, I never took the opportunity to establish my own authentic way of prayer. I rarely even read the words of the siddur. I would observe the traditional service and whisper to friends every so often because I was bored. As someone who grew up praying every morning at school, I wasn’t interested in finding a way of prayer that was unique to me. Moreover, when I did pray, I didn’t pray with meaning. Rather, I said the words only because I knew participating was the right thing to do. Story #2: My second two years of high school, I opened my mind to the idea of finding meaning within the words of the siddur. I began to pray according to my needs. Essentially, I created my Kyle Fingerhut, RZJHS 2020 own authentic form of prayer. I started to enjoy walking into the Beit Knesset and praying to both comfort and learn more about myself. I realized the signifi- to connecting with the Divine. cance of my prayers. Something else goes with this. Buber explains how imIn his essay “Jewish Religiosity,” Martin Buber teach- portant it is not to let our spirituality turn back into es us to recognize the difference between religion and “religion.” Let me give you an example from the Bible. religiosity, or what we call: spirituality. Religion is pas- Israel created a sacrificial cult because they were in need sive; it contains strict laws and teachings that are passed of a living, vibrant communion with God. down from generation to generation and one must follow them as they are. But, the sacrificial cult became too elaborate, governed by rule after rule. Instead of connecting the people to On the other hand, spirituality “means activity– the el- God, their only focus was on the sacrifice itself. The emental entering-into-relation with the absolute.” For prophets knew this. They spoke to it. Amos, Micah, IsaBuber, our spirituality depends on the force of our ac- iah, and Jeremiah criticized Israel’s approach; they said: tions. It is our job not to let any kind of external force you can’t connect with God just by doing an action beguide or weaken our actions. Rather, we should use the cause you think it will please God. freedom we are given to creatively form a relationship with God. Rather, God wants to hear your heart and the meaning behind your actions. For us, this might mean being intiSince it is our duty to establish a connection with God, mate with our prayers and rituals. We shouldn’t say the Buber emphasizes the importance of acting on your words of the siddur just because it is the right thing to own instead of following tradition. Spirituality is all do, or put on tallit and tefillin because it’s a school rule. about DOING; we need to be fully mindful and committed when it comes to creating an authentic approach See Schoenberg, page 26 23
